• Writing a Professional Life on Facebook

    Timothy J. Briggs

    In "A Reply to Facebook Critics," D. E. Wittkower (2010) asserted: "The things that happen on Facebook are really pretty meaningless. Not that they can't have meaning, but simply that they don't. Or, at least, they don't until we get our collective hands on them" (p. xxii). In this video, I follow Wittkower's lead and present my experiences using Facebook for my professional life. Based on these experiences, I contend that Facebook can be valuable to faculty in rhetoric and composition as both a site for professional conversations and a social network that enables users to create and maintain social capital.

    For the best viewing experience, adjust the YouTube settings to 1080p HD. Download the transcript.

     

    References

    Bourdieu, Pierre, & Wacquant, Loïc J. D. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Ellison, Nicole B., Steinfield, Charles, & Lampe, Cliff. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends”: Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1143-1168. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x

    Grabill, Jeff, Hart-Davidson, William, Pigg, Stacey, McLeod, Michael, Curran, Paul, Moore, Jessie, . . . Brunk-Chavez, Beth. (2010). Revisualizing composition: Mapping the writing lives of first-year college students [White paper]. Retrieved from http://wide.msu.edu/special/writinglives

    Wittkower, D. E. (2010). A reply to Facebook critics. In D. E. Wittkower (Ed.),
    Facebook and philosophy: What's on your mind? (pp. xxi-xxx). Chicago, IL:
    Open Court.


    Music (In Order)

    Tyrannic Toy. (2012). Blackroad. T’ as pas la flamme, t as la flemme.
    Retrieved from http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tyrannic_Toy

    Jahzzar. (2012). DZ. The crowd.
    Retrieved from http://www.jamendo.com/en/list/a110442/the-crowd

    Jahzzar. (2009). Airship fury. Home.
    Retrieved from http://www.jamendo.com/en/list/a47042/home

    Jahzzar. (2011). Magic mountain. Blinded by dust.
    Retrieved from http://www.jamendo.com/en/list/a89017/blinded-by-dust

    Jahzzar. (2012). The crowd. The crowd.
    Retrieved from http://www.jamendo.com/en/list/a110442/the-crowd

     

    Timothy J. Briggs is a Special Lecturer in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric at Oakland University.